The Felixstowe Society Newsletter Issue Number 107 Contents 1 September 2014 2 The Felixstowe Society 3 Notes from the Chairman 4 Speaker Meetings for 2014 4 Speaker Meetings for 2015 4 Lifts for Members 5 Remember Heritage Weekend 5 Wanted - garage to rent 6 Architectural Survey 6 Orwell Memories - Extra Event 6 Awards for Enhancement of the Environment 9 Donation by The Society 9 Our local MP 10 Felixstowe Walkers 13 St John the Baptist - Organ Rebuild 14 New Felixstowe Society Plaque 16 Visit to Chartwell & Leeds Castle 18 The Story of a House 19 Beach Clean 20 Tour of Lavenham and Constable Country 22 The Plight of the Plaques 23 Nuclear Observation Post 25 Book Reviews 26 Felixstowe’s Tourist Information Centre 27 Research Corner 21 - 1964 30 Planning Applications 32 Local History Talks and Walks 33 Join The Society Registered Charity No. 277442 Founded 1978 The Felixstowe Society is established for the public benefit of people who either live or work in Felixstowe and Walton. Members are also very welcome from the Trimleys and the surrounding villages. The Society endeavours to: stimulate public interest in these areas, promote high standards of planning and architecture and secure the improvement, protection, development and preservation of the local environment. ! Chairman: Roger Baker, 5 Princes Gardens, Felixstowe, IP11 7RH, 282526 ! Vice Chairman: Philip Hadwen, 54 Fairfield Ave., Felixstowe, IP11 9JJ, 286008 ! Secretary: Trish Hann, 49 Foxgrove Lane, Felixstowe, IP11 7JU, 271902 ! Treasurer: Susanne Barsby, 1 Berners Road, Felixstowe, IP11 7LF, 276602 Membership Subscriptions !!!Annual Membership - single £7!! ! ! !!!Joint Membership - two people at same address £10 !!!Corporate Membership (for local organisations !!!!who wish to support The Society) !!!!Non - commercial £15!! ! ! ! !!! !! Commercial £20!! ! ! ! ! !!! Young people under the age of 18 free!! !!!! ! The subscription runs from the 1 January. ! The Membership Secretary is Betty Woollan, The Pines, Manor Road, ! Trimley St Mary, Felixstowe, IP11 0TU. ! Members are reminded that the Societyʼs booklets The Cotman Walk and ! Walking around Felixstowe are available from the Tourist Information Centre and ! Stillwater Books. ! ! The next Newsletter will be distributed by the delivery team at the beginning of ! January. ! Editor: Tony Hughes, 18 Brook Lane, Felixstowe, IP11 7EG, 276128. ! ! Contributions for the January Newsletter must be with the Editor by 20 ! November preferably by Email ( [email protected]). 2 Notes from the Chairman By the time you read this, The Societyʼs summer break will be coming to an end and the autumnʼs programme of Speakersʼ Evenings will be starting with a talk on the 23 September by Doreen Savage entitled “My Felixstowe”. I hope that you had an enjoyable and relaxing summer and are now ready to support our activities with renewed vigour ! In May, Keith and Elizabeth Horn organised our first two-day trip – it was to Chartwell and to Leeds Castle plus a brief visit to Rochester. Everything worked perfectly thanks to Keithʼs and Elizabethʼs hard work and everyone enjoyed the visit. See later in this Newsletter for a detailed visit report. Given the success of this first longer trip, we are already planning something similar in 2015. The next big event is the Heritage Weekend which runs from Friday 12 to Sunday 14 September. Phil Hadwen is looking for Society members who would be willing to act as guides, stewards, and general helpers. If you would like to take part, contact Phil on 01394 286008. A big disappointment has been the news that work on the Spa Gardens shows no sign of starting despite promises that it would begin this summer. We are therefore certain to have disruption during this summer season even if work were to start now but there seems to be a distinct possibility that the 2015 visitor season will also be affected. SCDCʼs website states the following:- “The meetings with the prospective contractors were very positive with companies showing a genuine interest in completing the works. I am optimistic that we are now well on the way towards selecting and appointing a new contractor to complete the renovation work and get the gardens re-opened by the middle of next year.” On the 28 April, The Society held a plaque unveiling event at the former Bartlet Convalescent Home on Bath Hill. This was to commemorate the centenary (to the very day) of the burning down by two suffragettes of the Bath Hotel which stood on the site. The event was covered by the BBCʼs “Look East” local news. Thanks to those of you who attended the AGM on the 20 May. Normally we present the Enhancement of the Environment Awards to the winners at the AGM but, as we announced at the meeting, we have decided to delay the presentations until the Speakersʼ Evening on the 25 November when the architect of the Fludyer Arms Hotel development (which is one of the winners) will be speaking to us. On the 18 July, Meg and I attended the Mayorʼs reception at the Felixstowe Academy. It was an excellent event and allowed us to see the wonderful facilities that the new school provides – so different from what we had when we were in secondary school ! Amongst other things, the Mayor introduced the new Town Clerk, Ash Tadjrishi, and expressed the hope that his appointment would end the period of uncertainty which has existed for some time. Roger Baker 3 Speaker Meetings for 2014 All speaker meeting are held at the Salvation Army Church starting at 7.30pm. !! Admission £1 members £2 visitors Tuesday 23 September - My Felixstowe Councillor and former Mayor of Felixstowe, Doreen Savage, speaks about her memories and hopes for our town Tuesday 28 October - Behind "Spotlight on Felixstowe" Peter Moss tells us about the production of this popular monthly magazine Tuesday 25 November - The Fludyer Arms Hotel and Bethesda Baptist Church The architects of both properties explain the development of the two sites Tuesday 9 December- A Christmas Celebration Members of The Felixstowe Society start the celebrations with a collection of readings and music Speaker Meetings for 2015 Tuesday 27 January - Suffolk War Memorials Bev Boyce, our Publicity Officer, talks about her fascinating work with these precious monuments Tuesday 24 February - Suffolk Coastal Erosion Graham Henderson, Chairman of SCAR (Suffolk Coast Against Retreat) tells us about the latest developments along the Suffolk coast particularly in our area Tuesday 24 March - An Evening with Peter Phillips Local thespian and author talks about his experiences of Felixstowe Tuesday 19 May - AGM + Felixstowe at Risk Our Vice-Chairman explains and illustrates, the many worrying developments that threaten the ambience of our beautiful town Lifts for Members It has been brought to our notice that several members are unable to attend our winter series of Speaker Evenings because of transport difficulties. Hopefully this can be remedied in the near future by having someone in The Society responsible for arranging lifts for these members. Therefore if there is anyone who could undertake this task please approach our chairman, Roger Baker, or one of the committee members. Also if there are any members who would be prepared to help with the transport then please contact the number below. Finally if you require a lift contact Phil Hadwen on 01394 286008 and he will try to arrange this. 4 Remember Heritage Weekend! 12, 13 and 14 September This is the second time that we will be organising and sponsoring the Heritage Weekend and plans are almost in place for a bigger and better event than the previous occasion. We hope to have four private properties available for viewing, all with great architectural interest and there are several other properties new to our list. Some of the "old faithfuls" are again available, as not everyone visited them last time. There are more walks and talks and once again we will have a Hub, St Mary`s Church Hall, Walton where there will be displays and refreshments. New this year will be an unveiling of another Felixstowe Society Plaque, this time to Sammy Wall, a local personality and foremost local historian of his time. Help is always needed and if you could spare a few hours to help in any way at all it would really be appreciated. Do please contact Phil Hadwen on 01394 286008 or [email protected] to offer your services. The last time we were involved we were joint twentyeighth with Durham, with about thirty events. This year we are starting on the Friday and have in the region of fifty things that can be experienced. A detailed coloured booklet will be available from the last week of August with full details of all the events. PLEASE SUPPORT US! Wanted – Garage to Rent ! 5The Felixstowe Society owns a ride-on mower and a trailer which are used to ! maintain Abbey Grove. ! We are about to lose the garage where we normally keep this equipment and ! are looking for alternative storage. ! Do you have a garage which you would be willing to rent or do you know of ! anyone who might have one which they could make available to us? ! If you have any suggestions, please contact:- Keith Horn on 01394 270845 5 Architectural Survey 2014 On page 22 of the May Newsletter the need for a Survey was made and how it should be done. A form was enclosed with the May Newsletter for completion and submission. Because of the interest shown we have extended the deadline for entries until 1 November so that we can take in our Heritage Weekend. Remember every member of The Society has a vote, joint membership means two entries. If you have mislaid your form they will be available at our autumn speaker meetings or from Phil Hadwen, 54 Fairfield Road, Felixstowe to whom they should be returned.